We do know it's not REAL don't we?
Ive written before about lesbians being their own worst enemy when it comes to not accepting other lesbians just because they dont look like the very stereotype we apparently hate. But after a chat over a couple* of glasses of wine the other night with a friend who knows a thing or two about the lesbian press, it became clear that its far more confusing than Id first realised
It seems a very lesbian, but very regular looking girl, is not what we want to see at all. But give us a picture of an actress who once played a lesbian in a programme before the current programme she’s in where she plays it straight, and we’re foaming at the mouth.
Even the woman who played Helena in the L Word has her own column in Diva and we’re hanging on her every word. No one apparently cares that she also played a woman making a cup of tea in a Britta advert and I doubt Tetley are desperately trying to sign her.
So while it’s fine to fancy fit women, especially fit women who we’ve seen doing rude stuff to other fit women, it’s worth just putting things into perspective. These actresses, who become the centre of our hero-worship are just that, actresses, and one day they might play a homophobic kitten killer. Will we like them so much then?
If we’re to move forward we need to be prepared to accept that all sorts of woman are gay and every one has a place in the gay media, and stop fixating on a tiny group of actresses who would probably be very happy to have a day off from being a lesbian icon too.
*5
